A Cross-Layer Approach-Based Gnutella for Collaborative Virtual Environments over Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

Abstract

Collaborative Virtual Environments (CVEs) such as military training programs, emergency preparedness simulations, and online games place strict requirements on network performance when participating users share the 3D virtual environment through their mobile devices in an ad hoc network. However, most support systems for existing CVEs are confined to a desktop setting, thus preventing collaboration while users are mobile. In this work, we propose and evaluate a Gnutella peer-to-peer network over mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs) to support Mobile Collaborative Virtual Environment (MCVE) applications. Both architectures share some common features such as decentralization, self-reorganization, and self-healing. However, peer-to-peer networks and MANETs operate on different network layers, and thus, cause poor performance. To address this problem, we explore a novel cross-layer approach to improve the overall performance of CVEs over MANETs. The network layer should be aware of the user's physical position in the virtual environment (VE) in order to minimize network traffic and cope with a moderate workload between nodes. In this paper, we present a cross-layer approach model for collaborative virtual environment over MANET. We describe its implementation and evaluate its performance using NS2 simulator.